Oil-separator trap



E. C. KELLY.

OILSEPARATOR TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11, 1920.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

. 4 1 aii I fizpaiifi? Edward 611K955! 71125 am /my? UNITED STATESrareur OFFICE.

EDWARD C. KELLY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' oin-snrane'ron TRAP.

Specification of Application filed June 17,-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD C. KELLY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica. and resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inOil-Separator Traps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to oil separator traps of that type commonlyemployed for separating gasolene, oils and greases from drainage waterflowing from garages, machine shops and the like, whereby to prevent thedischarge of such inflammable materials into public sewers.

Devices of the above character, in many cases, in order to secureefliciency of operation, have been complex and costly of construction,requiring frequent attention in order to secure the best operativeresults.

One object of the present inventionis to overcome such objectionablefeatures of prior devices and to provide a trap, of simple form whichshall require the minimum amount of attention.

v In the continued .use of traps of the above character, the drainagewater deposits considerable quantities of sand or other solid particlesin the separatingchaniber and it becomes necessary to remove suchdeposit fromtime to time. With traps as commonly constructed, it isnecessary, in order to reach the depositedsilt,-to remove a cover ormanhole, and such removal is rendered dangerous in many cases byreasonof the accumulation of inflammable gases in the upper part of theseparatingchamher and belowthe cover. Moreover, in many sucharrangements, the manholeopens. directly into the oil chamber, and inorderto .removethe silt the dipper or other tool employed must be thrustdown through the oil contained therein. Oilis thus removed with the siltand wasted, whileat thesame time its discharge with the silt isobjectionable and the task of removing the silt made dirty anddisagreeable I V V I .A further object of the present invention is toprovide a trap of the type above de scribed in which the oil chamberzma-y remain permanently sealed and whereinpthe silt may be removedreadily from the sepa- Letters Patent.

rating chamber without disturbance of the oil or without danger from theescape of inflammable gases.

A preferred arrangement of parts by means of which the above objects maybe attained is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a cross sectional view showin the device in position for use; and bFig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Referrmg to the drawings, 1 indicates the ground or floor level, belowwhich the apparatuswill ordinarily be placed, although th1s is notessential. 2 is a substantially cylindrical drum or casing having aclosed bottom end Sand a closed upper end 4, and forming a fluidcontainer or receptacle. This drum is preferably formed of sheet metalhaving the ends suitably secured to the cylindrical portion thereof.

Extending downwardly through the upper end ofthe drum isa substantiallycylindrical casing 5 having open ends, the lower end 6 being spaced fromthe bottom of the drum 2. The casing 5 preferably extends above theupper end 4: of the drum as shown at 7 and opens at the floor level, acover plate 8 being provided for normally closing'the upperend of thecasing 5. This cover ,may be sufficiently heavy to retain its positionby its own weight, or may, if desired, be removably secured byscrewthreaded engagement with the interior wall of the casingor'by meansof bolts. EX-

tending outwardly and laterally from the upper portion of the casing 5is a vent pipe 9 which passes through the side wall of the drum 2;.andmay thence be vertically extended ,asshown at 10 to someelevated p0-sitionto discharge intotheopen air.

As shown herein,the casing 5 issubstantial ly concentric with thecylindrical walls of the drum 2 thus providing an-annular space 11between the casing and said walls.

@pcning 'directly into this annular space, at the upper portion thereof,as shown at 12,

:is a pipe 13, this pipe leading through the usual interposed trap fromsome point or pointsv where oil and water collect; The

pipe 13 will as usual be connected at a c0n- \QlllQllt point with astack orflue, not shown,

leading to a point above the roof of the with a handle 21 for manualmanipulation by the operator, and at 22 is indicated a suitablereceptacle for fluid discharged by the pump spout.

At some point, as 23, near the bottom 3 of the drum 2, an overflow pipe2% is connected, said pipe having a branch 25 leading to the sewer orother suitable point of discharge. If desired, this pipe 24 may extendto the floor level and be provided with a clean-out cover 26.

When the device is installed below the floor level, asshown in thedrawings, any fluid passing down the pipe 13 will be discharged directlyinto the annular space 11 between the cylindrical wall of the drum 2 andthe casing 5. The annular space-into which the fluid is thus dischargedand which extends down to the bottom edge of the casing 6 forms aseparating chamber for any fluid flowing thereinto, and as the area ofthis annular space is large as compared with the cross-sectionalarea ofthe pipe. 13, the fluid in such space is disturbed to but little extentby the discharge thereinto of fresh fluid from the pipe. As the fluidmay thus remain quiet in the annular chamber,

any oil, grease, gasolene or gaswhich may 'be mingled with the fluid asit enters, ispermitted to separate by gravity from the water and to'riseinto the upper portion of said annular chamber. As the upper end of thischamber is entirely closed, it is evident that gas rising from theliquid will be retained "therein except such as may escape along thepipe 13 from whence it will be discharged.

' The drainage water entering through the pipe 13 is often heavilycharged with sand,

silt'or other solid material, and the latter is permitted to settle outin the relative quiet of the annular chamber 11, falling through theopen" end of is'aid'chamber into the'bottom of the receptacle 2, whereit accumulates as indicated for example at 27, the oil in the upperportion of said chamber being 1 indicated at 28. As thelevel of thecombined contentsof'the receptacle 2 rise'spthe water will graduallyrise in the pipe 24 until it is dischar'ed through the pipe 25 into thesewer. ny oil or grease which accumulates in the upper portion of theannular chamber may bereadily removed therefrom by manipulation of thehand anticipatedin the orderly use of the apparatus.

Upon the accumulation of a considerable quantity of silt in the lowerportion of the drum 2, it may be removed therefrom by taking off thecover 8 and inserting a suitable spoon, dipper, or other tool, thearrangements of the parts being such as to permit a tool to be movedreadily throughout the entire area of the bottom of the drum, thuspermitting the accumulation of silt or sand to be thoroughly cleanedout. As will be noted, the removal of the cover 8 and any gas which mayhave accumulated in the top of the latter above pipe 13 is stillconfined therein regardless of the removal 'of. the cover. In thismanner a frequent cause of disastrous explosions is removed, ascarelessness on the partof the operator in removing the cover gives no"opportunity for inflammable gases to be rebe understood that'recepta'cles of other materials may be readily employed and that the fluidcontaining chamber may if desired be formed as a cavity in the earth andsuitably lined with concrete. It is furthermore to be understoodthattheexaot arrangement of vent pipes and discharge openings is notessential to the carrying out of this inventi0n', but that otherarrangements may be substituted in so far as they donot inter- 1n no wayaffects the annular oil chamber,

'fere withthe intended operation of the de- 'vice as above indicated and.in whichthe space 29 within the casing 5'is'normally sealed from theoil chamber by a fluid seal. Iclaim:' r

1. An oil separator having "in combination,

casing, and means for discharging mingled oil and Water directly intothe space between 'a closed fluid container, anopen ended cassaidcontainer and casing, and at a point substantially above the lower endof said casing.

2. A device of the class described comprising a substantially annularseparating chamber provided with an inlet opening in the side thereofand adjacent its upper end, an open ended casing extending downwardly insaid separating chamber at a point substantially below said inletopening and substantially concentric with said chamber, and a cover forthe upper end of said casing.

3. In a combination in a device of the class described, a receptaclehaving a closed upper end and provided at its upper portion with anannular oil separating chamber, means whereby mingled water, oil andsilt may be discharged directly into said chamber, means for removingoil from said chamber, an overflow discharge for water from saidreceptacle, and means substantially sealed from entry of oil or gas andconstructed and arranged to permit removal of precipitating siltupwardly from said receptacle.

4. In a trap for separating fluids of different specific gravities, aclosed cylindrical fluid receptacle having 1ts axis substantiallyvertical, a cylindrical casing extending downwardly into said receptacleand to a point substantially below the normal fluid level therein, aremovable cover plate for the upper end of said casing and means wherebymixed fluids may be discharged directly into the annular space betweensaid container and casing.

5. An oil separator trap having in com bination of a fluid containlngdrum having a substantially vertical axis, and closed at its ends, anopen ended casing extending into said drum from its upper end and to apoint below the normal level for fluid therein, an overflow pipe leadingfrom a point near the bottom of said receptacle, and an inlet pipearranged to discharge fluid into said drum at a point substantiallyabove the lower end of said casing and between the same and the wall ofthe drum.

6. A trap comprising a substantially cylindrical drum having closedends, an open ended casing arranged substantially concentrically of saiddrum, one end of said casing extending toward the bottom of said drumbut spaced therefrom, a removable cover for the opposite end of saidcasing, a vent pipe leading from the upper part of said casing, an inletpipe arranged to discharge into the annular space between said drum andcasing, means extending through the upper end of said drum into saidannular space whereby fluid may be removed therefrom, and an overflowdischarge for said drum.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this tenth day of June, 1920.

EDWARD C. KELLY.

